Shropshire health chief to retire next year
A Shropshire health boss has announced he will be retiring next year.
Dr Simon Freeman, accountable officer for Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), will leave his role at the end of March.
He has been at the helm of the CCG for two-and-a-half years and will be working a full six-month notice period.
He said: “Initially I came to the CCG on a 12-month secondment, but I have stayed on past my planned retirement to establish a new management team at the CCG and to help put in place plans for the transformation of the local health system.
“It is a personal decision to take retirement and I will be working a full six-month notice period through to the end of March 2019.”
Dr Julian Povey, clinical chair of Shropshire CCG, said: “I would like to pay tribute to the work Simon has done steering the CCG through a financially challenging period and laying the foundations on which we can continue to build our services for local people.
“I always knew it was Simon’s intention to retire and he leaves a lasting legacy in his dedication and work to help secure the largest investment in the history of Shropshire’s NHS with £312m for Future Fit.”
Consultation
Dr Freeman first joined the NHS in 2003 after a career in financial services and management consulting. He has held a number of director roles in both commissioning and provider trusts and has also served as the accountable officer for Leicester City CCG.
He was the chief operating officer for Arden & GEM Commissioning Support Unit before he joined Shropshire CCG.
Dr Freeman spoke with people attending the Future Fit public consultation events earlier this year.
The Future Fit programme aims to shake-up hospital services and separate emergency and planned care in the county.
Under the Future Fit plans, there will be just one emergency centre serving Shropshire at either Royal Shrewsbury Hospital or Telford's Princess Royal Hospital, but urgent care centres would be set up at both sites.
The public consultation ended last month and a final decision is due to be made by Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin CCGs early next year.
